Critic Reviews

One of my favorite features in this game was the Dewdrop Telescope, a floating telescope that Flik can use to see things such as Level Exits and Secrets. I think this is a very clever way of utilizing hints in the game. Plus, it rewards the child for using their memory, as they have to remember the location and surroundings of what they saw earlier. A Bug’s Life also supports Dual Shock Analog controllers as well, and both are handled nicely. All in all, this is a great choice for kids of all ages.

At any rate, a Bugs Life plays out very similar to the movie and offers gamers a true bugs eye view on life. After playing this game I will certainly have a bit more respect for these little critters before I stomp on 'em next time.

There's quite a bit of humour in A Bug's Life, particularly when he splats spiders as he comes out with: "That'll leave a nasty stain!" The 3D graphics are excellent and give you an ant's antenna view of the world. By crikey do those mossies look big! Using a keyboard to control the game is not as handy as a Playstation joypad (yes, A Bug's Life is on the PSX as well) but the added graphics with hardware acceleration the computer offers more than makes up for that. Youngsters will love this in either format.

The journey from celluloid classic to videogame disaster is a short one. There's been a shedload of mediocre titles filtered from the big screen lately, but A Bug's Life is actually worth the bother. The brilliant hi-res graphics are dazzling and Flik's ability to turn acorns into useful objects is a fine addition. If you're a bit older than the target market, don't worry about being disappointed. It may be a kid's game, but there's a lot more to this than cuddly woodland creatures.

If you like comical animation games, then this game is worth playing. Earning all of the different animations is fun. You can watch them all in order, once you've earned them and saved your progress. This is one game based on a license that actually turns out to be a decent game. Definitely rentable and worth buying if you want to exhaust every level.

Overall, this is a neat little game that can be gratifying to both children and any older gamers who choose to seek out all the secrets. Though it's easy to run through it, don't be surprised if you find you don't have enough lives left to tackle some of the more difficult stages toward the end of the game. Taking the time to get all the bonuses in the early stages will make it much easier to finish the game.

A Bug's Life for Nintendo 64 is a totally average 3D platformer aimed at Nintendo 64's younger audience. This audience isn't likely to mind that it's basically a quick, in some cases sloppy port of the PlayStation original, which debuted for the 32-bit console last year. Nor will it mind that A Bug's Life has been done plenty of times before for Nintendo 64 -- and better -- in games like Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64. And that's not such a bad thing because A Bug's Life isn't an especially bad game. But for those of us who have played through and loved the likes of Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64, well, A Bug's Life just doesn't live up. It plays slower, it's less intuitive, it's less inventive and it looks exactly like a quick and easy port of the PlayStation original. In the end, the license is the strongest part of A Bug's Life for Nintendo 64 -- and that's never a good thing.

A good game for what it is. The graphics are nice and clean and the sound is pretty good. The game does need a little bit more polishing and a speedup in the action would be nice. If you have young children, than you might want to add this title to your holiday shopping list. It's a nice effort by Disney although it does fall short in comparison to some of the other products they've released in the past.

In the end A Bug's Life cannot be called revolutionary but it certainly keeps pace visually with the best of them, muddles around the middle of the pack as far as character control goes, and is probably best played by kids who would otherwise spend their afternoons burning centipedes with a magnifying glass or snapping the backs of beetles. Grow'd-ups like myself won't exactly be enthralled by overall gameplay, but the wisely-cracked commentary is good for a few laughs. It's a good game, just a little mis-directed me thinks.

Like any medium, the video game has a target audience. Every game ever produced has been geared toward a specific type of player, and as such, children's video games often have a distinct simplicity. A Bug's Life, however, deftly avoids that stereotype and delivers a worthwhile experience to a more mature audience without losing its appeal to those who are younger.

The Nintendo version of A Bug's Life is not as difficult as the PlayStation version. Sometimes, that's good, other times, that's bad. There were some parts in the PlayStation version that probably unnecessarily difficult, but the N64 version of A Bug's Life does not seem to be quite as challenging, making it GREAT for beginners.

Disney/Pixar: A Bug's Life could have been a great game. Instead of the basic "find the exit" and "fight the boss" gameplay, more effort should have been placed on creating larger 3D environments with a variety of objectives to accomplish, bosses that actually require technique to defeat and moves that didn't rely on picking up seeds just to get anywhere. Considering the lack of challenge and short length, I couldn't help feeling I'd been stung.

A Bug's Life is a good film and a passable PlayStation game, but it's a mediocre N64 cart. Nothing enthralling, though the wisely-cracked commentary is good for a few laughs. Besides, by the nature of its Disney pedigree, the kids are going to like it whether I approve of it or not. And I don't.

From my standpoint, this game just wasn't very fun to play. The levels were too easy and everything was just a bit too simple. A Bug's Life is for Disney fanatics only. There are plenty of other 3-D adventure games out there (Gex: Enter the Gecko or Medievil, for example) that are far superior in graphics, originality, complexity, and fun factor. The only reason I would recommend buying this game would be if you or someone you love (perhaps a six year old cousin?) absolutely loved the film. Otherwise, just chalk this one up to another failed movie to video game transformation. But beware for your young ones: even the ants in the video game only have 4 legs!

I could go and watch A Bug's Life on the biggest screen in London's West End three times and still have plenty of change from £30, or I could buy the game instead and be treated to a glitchy, thrown-together bit of software instead. I think it's brilliant that we finally get games from big movie licences appearing at the same time as the celluloid version, but not when they're rubbish like Bug's Life. There's some terrible pop-up in places, and some other bad graphical glitches. And why we had to have the American voice constantly repeating "Ahh, the life of an Ant" or "Iridescent lighting, I like it" every five bloody minutes! This could have been so good, but I got too frustrated too quickly to like this in any form.

This game annoys me most because it actually could've been a decent kid's game if the damned camera worked right - which consequently makes controlling little. Flik is a real pain in the gastor. Well, then there's the respawning enemies (did somebody say annoying?) and the below-average graphics. OK, so i guess the game does have it's share of problems. Overall, I might recommend this to kids, but not serious gamers.

In the end, A Bug's Life offers nothing more than more proof that a great franchise name doesn't make for a good game. The only players I can see enjoying the game are very young children; serious gamers will be seriously "bugged."

I'll be blunt. A Bug's Life is a bad game through and through. You can taunt me with e-mails about how graphics aren't everything and that I hate Nintendo 64, but I don't. This conversion from Activision is simply a dud. They put no work into it and ported it to the console just to make a quick buck. All in all, the industry doesn't need something like this to continue growing.

Of all the various types of games, the 3D platform game may just be the hardest to pull off. In 2D platform games, the developers restrict your options and guide you along a predetermined path that can mask flaws in the game. In fighting, driving, and sports games, the pure adrenaline of playing can mask many shortcomings. In role-playing games, a sense of scale and adventure can help cover up bad graphics or nonsensical puzzles. But when you pop in a 3D adventure game, you have the luxury of exploring every nook and cranny of a game; in fact, there's no other way to play a true 3D game except to leave no stone unturned. A developer has the opportunity to shock you with the detail, beauty, and scope of his creation. On the other hand, if a 3D game is flawed, it is there in all its misery for you to uncover. In the worst 3D games, you are a free-roaming guest in a world that you would never, ever want to visit.